He clicked to take a look.
Huh! So they are trying to blame her.
But she was never one to let people manipulate her unless absolutely necessary.
Wen Tang quickly grabbed her notepad and laptop and began typing furiously, casually dropping her work ID under the forum post, her words sufficiently brief.
No explanation, right to the point, leaving the rest to the internet users in the comments section.
The timing of the explosive post matched perfectly with Wen Tang's provided work ID.
It was clear who was fabricating the truth at a glance.
Wen Tang felt a lot more grounded and managed not to panic even as she closed her laptop.
Just as she was wondering when she could return to her duties at Pei Group, she stumbled across the figure of Pei Heyan.
He stood at the hospital room's door, staring at her with an ugly expression on his face.
"President Pei?" Wen Tang sat up, and Pei Heyan entered the room.
He asked her, "So hungry, isn't it hard to bear staying in the hospital?"
Wen Tang was somewhat puzzled, she hadn't seduced any men, nor had she had a boyfriend, where was this talk of hunger coming from.
Pei Heyan's gaze on her was scorching, his eyes filled with absolute repression.
Wen Tang realized what was going on, he must have seen the scandalous post online and come over.
But she wasn't the one cheating, the person who was captured with another man wasn't her.
It was Lu Nianxin.
"So is President Pei at the hospital to defend Miss Lu's reputation, and to have me delete the online post?" Wen Tang pursed her lips, "Didn't expect President Pei would be cuckolded."
Pei Heyan's brows knotted tightly, and the temperature around them seemed to drop considerably.
"Wen Tang, don't forget, you are just a secretary," he called her by her name.
Rarely did he call her full name.
Intimidating with an oppressive presence.
"I was presumptuous, forgetting there is a difference in rank," Wen Tang changed her tone and repeated her earlier words, "From now on, I won't mention the bit about President Pei being cuckolded ever again."
Little did she know, every word she spoke was testing Pei Heyan's patience.
He didn't like hearing these words and hated when people went against his will.
Involuntarily, his body leaned into Wen Tang, pinning her down.
Wen Tang tried to move, but Pei Heyan tightened his grip, his veins bulging on his arm, his eyes dark and bottomless as if he wished he could swallow her whole.
"Stop." A bad premonition rose in Wen Tang's heart, she looked towards the passersby outside the room and softly warned, "President Pei, this is a hospital."
Hospital?
"Then it's the perfect place for something exciting," Pei Heyan roughly pulled open her clothes.
Buttons rolled on the floor.
A junior nurse turned the doorknob, glanced inside, blushed, and hurriedly turned away.
Wen Tang hastily pushed Pei Heyan away and covered herself with a blanket, "Whoever's rumor it is should clean it up, I have no obligation to carry the can for Miss Lu."
The man had a look of complete displeasure on his face.
He stood up, stretching his neck, "We can settle this account later."
His words fell, and he decisively left the room.
It wasn't long before Cao Yinqiong came over.
"I just asked Qin Qin to come and check on you, and the girl was too embarrassed to come up," Cao Yinqiong said with a tone mixing jest and righteousness.
Wen Tang tucked her hair behind her ear, "Dr. Cao, I think..."
Cao Yinqiong looked at her.
"I want to go through the discharge procedures," Wen Tang blurted out resolutely.
Cao Yinqiong was taken aback and accused, "Do you know what it means to leave the hospital when your wound hasn't healed?"
"Especially when the suture line has come apart."
Wen Tang remained silent, her face showing resignation as she let Cao Yinqiong scold her.
After Cao had finished, she remembered that as a doctor she shouldn't interfere with a patient's rights. Her attitude softened as she asked, "It's related to Pei Heyan, isn't it?"
Wen Tang pursed her lips, which was an affirmation, but she didn't say it out loud.
Both of them knew the truth.
Cao Yinqiong sighed, "Alright then, if you want to be discharged, I'll have someone process your discharge paperwork right now."
She called a young nurse to run the errands, then tore off a piece of paper, uncapped her pen, and wrote down a string of numbers: "This is my phone number, contact me anytime if you need to."
As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Yinqiong turned and left the ward.
Without lingering for a moment.
Wen Tang looked down at the piece of paper in her hand, folded it, and placed it in her bag.
She moved out of the hospital that evening and reported for duty early the next morning.
She was still dressed in the same streamlined professional suit and a pair of black red-bottomed high heels.
She didn't limp like the day before, appearing no different from any other day, but only she knew how much pain she was in.
It was with great effort that she reached the elevator and took a moment to rest, only to see Lu Nianxin approaching.
Lu flicked her hair and bumped straight into Wen Tang's shoulder as she entered the elevator.
Wen Tang's footing faltered, and she nearly stumbled from the collision.
She collected herself amidst the pain and moved to enter the elevator but was one step too late.
She watched helplessly as the elevator doors closed and ascended.
Wen Tang exhaled and thought to herself, forget it, I'll wait for the next one.
Holding that thought, Wen Tang stood on the first floor to wait.
Seeing the numbers on the elevator display panel descending, she straightened up again.
When the elevator doors opened, and she was about to enter, she heard Lu Nianxin's voice.
"Sorry, I'm not comfortable riding the elevator with others, especially people I dislike," she said self-righteously, not caring about Wen Tang's face in front of everyone.
Lu saw that several other employees were also waiting on the first floor and greeted them with a smile: "It's okay, you can come in."
"As for Secretary Wen, you might have to wait for the next one."
The employees exchanged awkward glances, caught between Lu Nianxin and Wen Tang, knowing they were on the verge of being late, they reluctantly entered the elevator.
"Secretary Wen, we'll go up first then," the last one said with a noticeably awkward expression.
Wen Tang forced a composed look towards the people inside the elevator: "It's alright."
They were all just working, she could understand.
Patiently waiting for another moment wouldn't hurt.
She leaned against the wall with one hand to rest for a while.
Ding—
The sound rang out, and Wen Tang immediately walked towards the elevator.
Lu Nianxin, seeing no one else at the elevator entrance, asked her, "Why did you come in?"
Wen Tang rolled up the strap of her bag: "Didn't you tell me to wait for the next one?"
Lu Nianxin thought carefully for a moment, "Did I say that?" She feigned sudden realization, "Oh, indeed I did, but what I meant was the next one after I had gone."
"Your comprehension is really poor."
Wen Tang was quickly filled with a sense of aggrievement and wanted to speak up, but rationality stopped her words in her throat. She stood in the elevator, enduring Lu Nianxin's reproach and even had to be grateful for her 'generosity.'
The elevator reached the top floor, and Lu Nianxin stepped out.
She left a sentence behind, "Seeing that you're just a worker, I won't hold this against you."
Wen Tang followed and sat down at her workstation.
She glanced at the time; she was late.
This was her first time being late since joining the Pei Group.